We recently caught up with Henry about how they secured a role with Schroders, their participation in Internship Experience UK and their top tips for Bright Network members looking to follow in their footsteps.
What stood out to you about Schroders?
The culture at Schroders stood out to me as having maintained the ‘family run’ feel, even as the company has successfully expanded to one of the largest asset management firms in the UK. Work-life balance can also be a concern in the finance sector, and Schroders pride themselves on their people with a great perks package for employees and a history of flexible working well before Covid-19 took hold.
What prompted you to take part in Internship Experience UK?
Internship Experience UK allowed me to undertake a placement that was outside the remit of my usual degree and previous work experience. It allowed me to see how I could apply my existing skills to a new type of task; one that reflected the work being done by the very firms I was hoping to apply to. As a bonus, it kept me busy and allowed me to fill what would have otherwise been a gap in my CV; a data analytics placement I had secured for the summer fell through due to Covid-19 restrictions.
If you could describe Internship Experience UK in one word, what would it be and why?
Respected. I knew I would gain value from Internship Experience UK, but I wasn’t sure how much weighting would be given to this experience, which had been completed remotely and by a huge number of fellow applicants. I was pleasantly surprised to find that any examples of skills given from Internship Experience UK were just as respected as those given from real-world office experiences, and it’s definitely part of what helped me secure my dream placement.
What skills/tips did you learn from Internship Experience UK?
The collaborative work aspect of the project really helped with my group tasks at assessment centres. The networking rooms gave me a much-needed refresher in professional conversation after six months of social distancing, and the talks from industry experts guided me towards areas I was more interested in and, ultimately, interview success!
How did you build up your commercial awareness before taking part in Internship Experience UK?
I had used my time at university without attending campus to find societies offering great remote activities; and signed up to both the UoB Investment Society and the UoB Startup Society. These gave me access to the Financial Times Online, which really came into its own when preparing for job interviews. Over the summer, I had also spent time building an understanding of basic economic and financial concepts, using online articles (especially Investopedia!) to cover my lack of any formal economic education.
What’s been the toughest interview question you've faced and how did you tackle it?
“Why Investment Management and not Investment Banking?”It’s always tough to answer a question like this; balancing your own opinion and understanding, without sounding negative. I’d recommend always having a really deep understanding of the specific role you’re applying for and other roles in the industry (what they do/what they involve on an everyday basis/what they don’t do). These questions can be a great opportunity to show your commercial awareness and interest in the company. I mentioned something impressive from a news report that the company had recently achieved, showing I appreciated their ethical practices and a real-world example of a positive that could have only come from an investment management firm.
What top three tips would you give Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?
- Do lots of independent research about what interests you - if you don’t want to, you’re looking at the wrong industry.
- Think about why you’re looking at this career path, you need to be motivated to keep learning, and be able to convey your passion in an interview.
- Don’t beat yourself up with rejections - often you won’t get feedback but if you can narrow down your weaknesses you’ll soon fill gaps in your knowledge and narrow down the perfect role for your future plans.
Let us know where you've secured your work experience, internship or graduate role. We want to celebrate your success with a gift from us and exclusive invitations to evening networking drinks throughout the year.
